Altamare's Shark and Fries Explained By Chef Simon Stojanovic

Chef Simon Stojanovic, AltaMare's head chef, likes big fish. "Growing up in New South Wales," Stojanovic says, "I used to love eating a big bundle of fish and chips -- the fish always being local shark." It was his idea for AltaMare's new happy hour special: $10 Fish and Chips, the catch being either mako or black tip, daily from 5 to 7 p.m.

"The idea to feature this dish actually came to me on a rainy day when I was in Orlando watching the shuttle launch," Stojanovic pauses. "I just thought of fish and chips!"

The sharks are caught in local Florida waters by a fishing charter company that recently provided him with a 40-pound mako. He explains that shark, unlike most fish, has a great yield ratio; "I usually get 70 to 75 percent of meat from a shark whereas other fish yield around 30 percent." It's cheap too, at only $3 a pound.

Momofuku, a story and recipe book by Chef David Chang which conveys bold

Asian flavors, sits beside Stojanovic. He tells of his admiration of

Asian cuisine but explains his disapproval of shark

fin soup which is often prepared by using the fins and discarding the live body.